The Chronicles of Arceus, Book 1: Genesis
by Snow Cloak
Summary: Ash is finally back, after 4 long years, to take part in a tournament where he meets his friends again. Where was he those 4 years, And did he really only come back for the tournament, or is there another reason...? Deeper than you might think.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, I really have no excuse this time. I kind of kept forgetting about this and I kind of got bored of writing and it got swept to the back of my mind. Really sorry about that! But this time, I swear I'm back. Seriously. I'll be shooting for one chapter a week at the very least. The weekly chapter will be posted on Sunday, unless I'm too busy and miss a week, upon which it will be posted on the Wednesday after. Anyways, you may have noticed I kind of deleted everything. Before I was editing the old story, but this time I think I'll rewrite it. Anyways, really sorry for disappearing again, I'm here to stay this time! Unless I get eaten by some sort of giant dragon or something.**

**Also you may have noticed I changed my Pen Name. Rest assured, I'm the same person, it's just that that old name was from ages ago, and I generally use a different name now. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**-Snow Cloak**

* * *

><p>"Four years now, and there's still no sign of him. None at all."<p>

The voice came from a spiky-haired man, lying on top of a grassy hill, staring up at the night sky, gazing at the stars. Along with him, doing the same thing, were his friends, Max, May and Dawn. Instead of sitting around the campfire, they were instead simply lying on the ground, with their backs to the grass. It was surprisingly comfortable, and it gave them time to think.

And they had been thinking peacefully, each in their own little private bubble, until Brock burst them all with his statement.

"Please don't bring him that back up… Even now, it's still painful, just thinking about it," One of the others lying around said, in a tired voice. It was evident that it was quite late at night, and all four of them were tired. But there was more to it… Almost as if the speaker had gotten tired of answering the same thing, over and over again…

"I know what you mean, Max. I feel just as you guys do, believe me. But do you really think that Ash would want us to be like this? Do you really think he would want his friends to mope about him, instead of moving on?" Brock said again, in a more serious voice. The rest of the group flinched and looked away when he said, 'Ash', but Brock tried to push his point onward.

"No. He wouldn't want this. I know this, and you guys know this, because we travelled with him, shared adventures with him. He wouldn't want us to mope about him; he would want us to remember him fondly."

His words hung in the air for a few minutes, with no one wanting to reply. Brock sighed dejectedly, as if this had happened many times before and gave up, resolving to go back to thinking to himself.

'_I wish I could see him again, just to know if he's safe. And I wish the rest of his friends could see why we should remember him fondly… Ash would hate to see them all so sad like they are now.'_ The spiky-haired Pokémon Breeder thought.

He sighed again, and shifted a little to the side.

'_You shouldn't have left Ash… Or if you had to, you could have at least told us why, and let us wish you farewell. Instead, now we're left without knowing where you are, what you're doing, or even if you're safe or not.'  
><em>

What was interesting about the group, however, was that they weren't simply hanging out or catching up with each other. No, they were travelling, travelling to the Indigo Plateau, to participate in a grand tournament that they had been informed of the day before.

The whole group of friends had been at Pallet the day before, to celebrate Gary's victory over the Orange League, when Professor Oak had announced the Tournament.

It was so huge, that all of them decided they would participate in it, even the ones that didn't generally participate in Pokémon battles.

Gary, who, while still learning to be a Pokémon Professor, still battled a fair bit, had some things to sort out at the lab, and with his Pokémon before he was able to leave to the Indigo Plateau. It wasn't very far from Pallet anyways, so it wasn't like they were in a rush.

Misty still needed to visit Cerulean City and get the gym all sorted out before she would be able to leave for the Tournament.

Max was probably the most serious trainer in the group, with Misty as a close second. He had done quite well in his journeys as a Pokémon trainer so far. He had started in Hoenn of course, and after a long series of adventurers along with Brock, he had managed to place in the top 32 in the Hoenn League, after beating his father to obtain his last necessary badge.

He then managed to place in the top 16 in the Kanto League, and top 8 in the Johto League. Max had then been planning to visit Sinnoh, and was also planning to reach the top, and win it.

Of course, he probably wouldn't have achieved any of this without Ash. He most likely would have ended up as an amateur trainer, just like so many others, without the influence of the energetic, raven-haired trainer.

The Tournament that they were currently traveling towards was a very special tournament indeed. Known as the Tournament of Arceus (ToA from now on), it was a tournament held once every 50 years, to bring together the greatest trainers of the generation for a grand spectacle. There were no requirements for entering, so one would be able to see many different levels of trainers, from brand new rookies, to legendary champions, to average-ranked trainers.

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile<em>

On an island in the Orange Archipelago, far away from human civilization, stood a raven-haired boy, watching a group of very powerful-looking Pokémon spar and train with each other.

He looked up at the sky briefly, and deciding it was time for a break, called out to his Pokémon.

"Alright guys. Let's take a break now."

And in that instant, all the Pokémon cried out happily and went to drink from the nearby river. Previous sparring opponents were suddenly great friends, as they took the moment to relax.

They didn't resent their trainer for pushing them all so hard, after all, a lot of the time he would train with them too, pushing himself just as hard. And all their hard work definitely showed. They were all very powerful Pokémon now.

Ash took the break time to look up at the sky and lose himself in his thoughts.

"Four years now… Four years." He said quietly to his partner, who had jumped up onto his shoulder a few moments earlier.

"It's been four years now, and I still regret leaving as much as I did when I first left. Many things have happened since then, and we've been through many adventures together… But I still regret it." He continued, his faithful companion listening carefully.

He and his Pokémon had travelled the world to train, having visited the rugged deserts of Orre, the snowstorm plagued peaks of Mt. Silver, visited islands so far from civilization that they had never been explored, and had visited many places underwater as well.

His only companions were his Pokémon. They were the only family he had left, after all. His father had taken his sister long ago and left, never to be heard of again. At least by him. And his mother?

Ash's train of thought ended as a loud sound could be heard, and a black shape was seen zooming towards their island. A voice spoke to him in his head through his aura, as the figure got closer.

'_Master! A figure is approaching the island at rapid speeds. The aura signature of it is that of a human on top of a Pidgeot! Should we assume defensive or offensive positions?'_

Ash replied through his aura as well, to his Lucario who was currently awaiting orders to give to the rest of his Pokémon, _'Defensive. Don't do anything until we find out who this mysterious figure is, and how they found us.'_

As the figure landed and approached Ash, seemingly oblivious to the large amount of Pokémon glaring at it, all ready to attack at a moment's notice.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Ash said threateningly, stepping forwards as he did.

"Hah, is that how you greet an old friend?" Came the cheerful response, from the figure, which could now be made out as Scott.

"...I know why you're here. I guess my past has finally caught up to me," Ash replied, making a hand signal for his Pokémon to return to their previous resting positions. They did so, but while still keeping a close eye on Scott, evidently not fully trusting his presence here.

"I will go. I shall participate in the Tournament of Arceus. That is, if you guys want to," He said, directing his second question to the Pokémon assembled before him. He didn't even need to wait for an answer, instead grinning as his Pokémon all cheered in the affirmative.

On Ash's shoulder, Pikachu grinned, seeing a look in his partner's face that he hadn't seen in a long time, and he realised that this would be the perfect opportunity for Ash.

* * *

><p><em>Several days later<em>

The group of Brock, May, Max and Dawn were currently near the end of their journey to the Indigo Plateau. At this point, Max was quite excited about the upcoming tournament.

"Time for me to win this!" He shouted, pumping his fist in the air energetically as he did so. Guess where he got the habit from?

"You aren't going to win Max. This tournament is going to have the best of the best from all the regions. The champions from the regions will likely be there," May said, always the one to burst her little brother's little bubble of overconfidence. This time, however, he was far too excited to take the bait.

"That's what you think, May! Me and my Pokémon have been training to be better than the best! The best of the best! There's no way we'll lose, now that we've come this far!" He shouted out, scaring several Pokémon into hiding.

"You know Max, you can be so stubborn sometimes! Even Ash wouldn't be this stubborn!" She shouted angrily at Max, tired of her brothers constant boasting. She then realised what she had said, and her face instantly calmed down.

Luckily she, and the rest of the group, were saved from an awkward moment, as the magnificent Indigo Plateau came into view just ahead of them as May finished talking.

The Plateau itself was a stunning sight to behold. In recent years, the Pokémon League had begun improving and adding to the facilities in preparation for the ToA. They had built more stadiums around, and had made the main stadium bigger and better. In anticipation of the large amount of participants, they also built more facilities to house trainers during their visit to the Indigo Plateau. But throughout all these changes, they still managed to keep the natural feel to it, with plenty of green mixed in.

They entered the main registration building, a huge building next to the Pokémon Centre, recently built by the Pokémon League as a sort of, 'Welcome to the new Indigo Plateau' sign, as it was the first building most trainers would see upon entering.

Upon entering, they were promptly shoved aside as a girl sprinted past them, obviously in a huge rush.

"Sorry!" She shouted quickly to them, turning her head around as she did, causing her to run right into the person in front of her.

Surprisingly, the person she had collided with was Gary, who had somehow arrived ahead of them. He stumbled forwards from the force, but recomposed himself and turned around to see who had collided with him.

"Oh. Hey Leaf, I haven't seen you in a while. Do you greet all your friends like that?"

"Hey! I didn't do it on purp-"She started, but stopped upon realising that Gary was grinning at her, and she grinned in return.

"Gary!" The group shouted, running towards him.

"Huh? Oh hey guys. This is Leaf; she's an old friend of mine." He said, pointing to the girl who had sprinted past the group moments earlier, "Leaf, this is Brock, May, Max and Dawn."

They exchanged greetings quickly, but the main question on their minds was shortly after asked by Brock.

"How did you beat us here? We started way ahead of you!"

"Oh, I just got my Alakazam to teleport me here. Simply, really." He said calmly, tapping a Pokeball on his belt as he did so.

"What! Why didn't you teleport us then? We had to trek through mud and dirt and trees and bushes and other disgusting places for days! My hair was completely ruined!" Dawn shouted at Gary angrily, although none of them could see anything wrong with her hair. Gary sweatdropped, taking a step back nervously as he did.

"Ah… ha ha… I guess I didn't think of it," He started to say but then when he saw that Dawn's look of anger seemed to be getting bigger, he amended his statement, "I mean uhh… Please don't kill me!"

He ran away screaming, out of the building and towards the main area of the Indigo Plateau.

The rest of the group sweatdropped at this, with Dawn grumbling angrily. Just then though, it seemed like Leaf remembered something and sprinted off to the registration counter.

A few moments later, the group heard a shout coming from her.

"WHAT? YOU MEAN I RAN ALL THIS WAY PANICKING BECAUSE I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO BE TOO LATE TO ENTER FOR NOTHING?"

* * *

><p>Ash was currently in front of Professor Oak's lab in Pallet Town, having flown the long distance on one of his Pokémon in no time. He faltered for a moment at the door. He had been away for four years, returning now wasn't exactly easy. But he regathered himself and knocked on the door, waiting for someone to answer.<p>

Professor Oak answered the door, surprised that Ash was here. He wasn't as surprised as one might be, as he had still been staying in touch with the boy, who regularly asked him various questions about different Pokémon, and various other Pokémon-related subjects, that Professor Oak was only too happy to answer. He had to swear to never tell anyone though, but the choice was Ash's to make, so he accepted it, hoping that one day he would come to his senses.

But he didn't expect it to be today.

"What are you doing here Ash? Wait a minute… I see… You're going to the tournament as well? Well if you were planning, you're in luck. The others left a few days ago," Professor Oak said.

Ash nodded, suddenly lost in thoughts. Pikachu, on his shoulder, poked him in the face, trying to get him to snap out of it, as Oak was still waiting for an answer.

"Huh? Oh, right. If you wouldn't mind Professor, could I stay at your place for the night? I would go back to my place for the night, but… well…" Ash said, unable to finish his sentence.

"Say no more, my boy! I'll be happy to have you stay here. Although… Can you show me your Pokémon? I'm sure they've grown much stronger, and I would like to see just how strong they've grown," Oak replied.

Ash nodded, seeing nothing wrong with the request.

"Sure, but let's go into your backyard first. There isn't enough space out here."

* * *

><p><em>A minute or so later<em>

Moments earlier, Ash had sent out all out his Pokémon, and now Professor Oak was checking each one, getting more impressed the more he looked.

Pikachu, Venosaur, Kingler, Muk, Tauros, Snorlax, Heracross, Meganium, Typhlosion, Totodile, Noctowl, Donphan, Swellow, Sceptile, Crawdaunt, Torkoal, Glalie, Staraptor, Torterra, Infernape, Floatzel, Garchomp, Primeape, Charizard, Blastoise, Gliscor, Butterfree, Pidgeot and Lapras. Ash certainly had an impressive group of Pokémon. All of his previous Pokémon had evolved, except Pikachu and Totodile.

Primeape, Charizard, Squirtle and Pidgeot had all returned to Ash, after he searched them out and asked if they wanted to join him in his self-exile and intense training spree. His Butterfree had also sought him out, after its mate had left him. The Lapras he had during his adventures in the Orange Islands also sought him out, after Team Rocket kidnapped the rest of its family.

Along with his previous Pokémon, he had two more – A Scizor and a Lucario.

"I see you still have one more Pokémon though." Professor Oak said, gesturing towards the Pokeball attached to a necklace around Ash's neck.

Ash grinned, unclipping the Pokeball from his necklace.

"I do. And this is my strongest Pokémon…"

He threw the ball up in the air, and in a flash of light, it revealed…

* * *

><p><strong>If you've read Four Years, I'm sure you know which Pokemon is coming out... :)<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry I forgot the page breaks last chapter. And, I knew I said I would put up new chapters on Sundays, but then I realised how little time that gave me to get another, and school started and stuff... So long story short, here's a chapter, and the next one will be up on Wednesday, unless I decide to post another one early, in which case the one after the next will be on wednesday. Next chapter will be much longer, too.**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

><p>…The Legendary Pokémon known as Latios.<p>

"Y-You caught a Legendary Pokémon? You used to tell me all about all the Legendary Pokémon you saw, but to think that you caught one? It's unbelievable! Simply astounding! You will have to let me study it Ash." Professor Oak said, immediately pulling out a magnifying glass and looking closer at the Latios.

Ash held out his arm to stop the Professor from getting any closer, although he did do it as gently as he could. Professor Oak wasn't getting any younger, after all, and Ash didn't want to hurt the man.

"Sorry Professor, but Latios doesn't really like too much human contact with people he doesn't know, and I don't want to do anything my Pokémon wouldn't like."

Professor Oak looked at Ash curiously, studying him carefully for the first time in a long time. What he saw there surprised him.

'_Well, well… Ash seems to have grown up. He's much more mature then he used to be, and he seems to care for his Pokémon even more than before, it that's even possible.´_ Professor Samuel Oak thought.

Suddenly, a voice echoed in both Ash and the Professor's heads. Ash didn't seem to worry about it at all, but Oak was noticeable surprised by it.

'_Yes, he has indeed grown. Ash is no longer the hyperactive kid he used to be. He's more mature now.' _The voice said.

Ash looked at Latios with a curious look, as if asking what that was all about. He kept his look for a few moments, before shrugging and turning back to Samuel, who was currently tapping his head, perhaps to find if some creature had crawled inside and started talking.

"Relax, that was just Latios's telepathy. His psychic powers are strong enough to communicate with us in our minds." Ash said, calming down the Professor, who looked at Latios with even more interest.

"Hmm, I had heard of powerful psychic Pokémon being able to communicate with telepathy, but I never believed it until now. How did you catch such a powerful Pokémon, Ash?" The Professor said, recovering quickly from his previous state of confusion.

"Well, do you remember years ago when I told you about my visit to Altomare?" Ash said.

"Yes, if I do recall you said you met a Latios and Latias there, and then had a typical adventure of yours that ended with you nearly dying again?" The Professor said, but then it dawned on him, "Wait, could this be… No, no, you said that the Latios you met had turned into the new Soul Dew to protect the city from the deadly waves!"

This time Latios decided to speak, or well, think, up.

'_Yes, that's true. I became the Soul Dew, for a period of time anyways. I was, for all intents and purposes, dead. But my sister, Latias, was grief-stricken over it. She wouldn't accept I was dead, not after all the time we had spent together. She searched and searched for a way to revive me without destroying the Soul Dew and thus destroying the city to no avail. She even went as far as to ask the other Legendaries if they knew anything, but still, nothing. _

_But one day, someone appeared in the secret garden and gave her a solution – sacrifice her soul to resurrect her brother. At that point, she had nearly been driven crazy in her attempt to bring me back, and so she accepted, without even considering the consequences. The mysterious person kept true to their deal, and I was restored to life. The Soul Dew was even destroyed, and it the city still stayed. But the person took my sister's soul away, just like they said they would. I do not know how, but the strange figure seemed to simply extract her soul from her still smiling body. Her body dissolved soon after the mysterious person left.'_

The Professor simply stood there for a moment, mouth gaping open in amazement. It certainly was an amazing story, but it seemed to bring up more questions than it answered. Who was the mysterious person, and how did they have powers strong enough to protect the city without the Soul Dew? Powers strong enough to take someone's soul?

'_Do know that I tell you this in the strictest confidence, and only because Ash trusts you. If I find you told anyone that story, I will find you, and what happens next will not be pretty,'_ Latios telepathed again, this time with a very serious tone.

Samuel gulped and nodded at Latios's serious tone, unable to say much else.

* * *

><p>It had taken them an hour or so of searching around the city, but they had finally found a suitable room in one of the many buildings built specifically to house trainers and spectators for the upcoming tournament. It hadn't been easy, especially with all the people that had come for the tournament, but luckily they had come early enough that it was at least possible. In a few days, there would be no space left at all.<p>

The prices weren't exactly the best though, so they could only afford one room. But the room seemed like it was big enough. They could pull out an extra bed, and another person could sleep on the couch, so there was no issue with it.

"Hey Brock, how long until the Tournament starts? I can't wait to start winning!" Max said enthusiastically, his face giddy with excitement.

"Calm down Max, there's still a week until it starts, so that's plenty of time to fit in some extra training, and especially for us non-trainers to warm up our Pokémon. They haven't battled in a proper battle in quite a while, you know." Brock said calmly, sorting out his belongings as he did.

"And there's no way you're going to win this Tournament Max, and no guarantee you'll get very far either! There are heaps of strong trainers here who have been training way longer than you!" May added in cheerfully, as she started unloading the huge amount of belongings she had brought.

That killed Max's good mood, and he started scowling grumpily at his sister.

"No way! I'm going to be the best, and win this tournament! No one will stand in my way!" He shouted, his previous grumpy attitude from having this bubble burst disappearing. Everyone in the room didn't really seem to care, having gotten used to his random outbreaks of emotion.

"Sure you will." May said casually, being the only one to bother answering, but she didn't even bother turning around to do, infuriating Max even more.

"Hey, I will!" Max shouted, causing May to turn around.

"No you won't." She said, sticking her tongue out.

"Yes I will!"

"No you won't."

"Yes I will!"

"No you won't."

"Yes I will!"

"No you won't!"

"Yes I will!"

"No you won't!"

"YES I WILL!"

"NO YOU WON'T!"

"YES I WILL!"

"NO YOU WON'T!"

The two were starting to get louder and louder now, and May had abandoned her previous task to focus on their 'argument' although it was more of a childish bicker. Brock and Dawn were starting to get a serious headache by now, but they had dealt with worse, so they just continued with their unpacking.

"YES! I! WILL!"

"NO! YOU! WON'T!"

"YES! I! WILL!"

At this point the sound was deafening, and the whole of the Indigo Plateau could probably hear the two siblings shouting at each other. Brock was just thankful they hadn't started beating each other up yet, but he decided it was getting out of hand, and decided to step in.

"It's getting late, guys, how about we get to sleep now?" He said in a tone, intentionally raising his voice so that the two arguers could hear him.

The two siblings, while unhappy at having their fight interrupted, grudgingly agreed. After all, it was quite late, and they were both too tired to continue their fight.

* * *

><p>Max lay in his bed, trying to get to sleep, all thoughts of his previous fight with May out of his mind now.<p>

'_I wonder where Ash is now… I'm worried… The Ash I knew never would have deserted his friends! And we still haven't had that battle he promised…'_

_**Flashback**_

"_I got it! You know you're going to become a Pokémon trainer, and then you and I will battle!" Ash said encouragingly._

"_You mean… me battle against you? It's a deal! Promise me that no matter what, we'll battle one day!" Max said, going from depressed to excited in an instant._

"_I promise!" Ash said, with an equal amount of enthusiasm. _

_**End Flashback**_

'_One day we'll have that battle, and I'll win!' _Max thought, his mind already beginning to drift into the deep realm of sleep as he did. It wasn't long before his eyes closed and everything went black.

* * *

><p>Max awoke to find his friends already awake, going about their daily business, having already had breakfast without informing him. He was surprised to see that it late morning, and he had slept in, his sister apparently not deciding to wake him up, after last night's argument, and Brock fearing death if he went against her wishes. Dawn was supporting May in this, doubling Brock's fear.<p>

They were all ignoring him, and the only reason he even knew what they were doing was because Brock had discreetly snuck him a note as he left the room, to get some breakfast and explore the island a bit.

He first set out for the port, where he would be able to get some time to relax and continue last night's thoughts, just before he fell asleep.

Staring out at the sparkling ocean sea on a beautiful, clear day, with perfect weather would make anyone relaxed, and Max was no exception. He took the moment to think about all the adventures he had with Ash, all those years ago. Those years had probably been the most fun in his life, except for maybe his first year as a trainer himself. Together with Ash, Brock and his Sister, they had gotten into so many exciting adventures, met so many strange Pokémon, and travelled the Hoenn region, something Max had always wanted to do.

And then Ash had gone to Sinnoh, but he didn't know too much about Ash's journeys there. And then Ash disappeared. The boy had been planning on traveling to the faraway region of Unova, when he disappeared. Without a trace. They had spent months and months looking for him, but eventually they had to give up. They just couldn't find him, no matter how painful it was.

His Sister seemed to have taken it the worst, but then again, Max didn't really know too many of Ash's other friends too well, so he honestly couldn't be sure, but his Sister had taken it quite hard. Brock had maintained his calm aura (Well, calm, except for when he sees a pretty girl, of course), but everyone knew that underneath that facade, Brock was just as worried as the rest, and was just trying to keep up his calm act to keep everyone together.

"The ocean sure is relaxing, isn't it?"

Max nearly jumped back at the voice that seemingly came out of nowhere. He had been so deep in thought; he hadn't noticed the stranger walk up beside him.

"Where did you come from!" He said in surprise, trying to recover from his surprise quickly.

"Hmph. I've been standing here for the last few minutes as you stood there, staring out at the ocean without moving at all." The stranger said.

Said stranger was definitely a man, and he was wearing a large coat and a hat that together covered up most of his body and face. The man had a Pikachu on his shoulder, and his voice was strangely familiar.

"Oh, well I had a lot on my mind, and I've just been thinking a lot, so I guess I didn't notice you." Max said, though he wondered why a complete stranger would talk to him, and why he was telling the stranger.

"Why don't you talk about it? It might help, you never know," Said the Stranger.

Strangely, Max trusted this man, even though he didn't even know him, and after all, there wasn't any harm in telling him. And it certainly might help.

"Well… I suppose there's no reason not to. I was just thinking about a friend of mine who left years ago, without telling anyone at all…" Max began to say, but the stranger interrupted him.

"Some friend he was…"

"No, no! It's not like that; he was the best friend someone could have! He was kind, friendly, loyal, brave, helpful, he would save your life, even if it meant he would lose his own, and he loved his Pokémon above everything else. And now he's gone! And he's probably dead!" At this point, all of the built up emotions inside of Max exploded, and he burst into tears, having remembered too many good things about Ash.

The Stranger let him cry for a few moments before answering.

"No need to worry. If your friend is as good of a friend as you say he is, of course he'll come back. For all you know, he might even be at this tournament. A trainer of his calibre wouldn't want to miss out on a challenge like this, after all."

"Y-You're right! He'll be here!" Max said, jumping in triumph and happiness.

"Wait a minute! I didn't tell you he was a trainer, or that he was a good trainer! And was that a Pikachu on your shoulder? And isn't that Dawn's catchphrase?" Max said, but by the time he turned around, the man had already left.

* * *

><p>Watching your little brother talk to some random, suspicious looking man would make any older sister worried, but if your brother then broke down in tears after talking with the man; that was something to be seriously worried about. What did the man say that had made Max react like that? Had he threatened him? Blackmailed him? Insulted him? Regardless of what he did, May would make him pay. She went to intercept him as he left the area.<p>

She walked up to the man, shouting, "Who do you think you are, making my brother cry like that?"

The man turned around to look at her, but he completely ignored her, instead continuing to walk in the direction of the forest.

"Stop right there! I won't let you get any further without a battle! Blaziken, take the stage!" She cried out without thinking, enlarging a Pokéball and releasing the Pokémon in front of the retreating man.

This time the strange man turned around, and got into position, enlarging a Pokéball of his own as he did.

"Very well. If it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get." He said calmly, with a voice that reminded May of someone, even if only a little. She couldn't put her finger on whom though, but it didn't really matter to her right now.

"Lucario, May the Aura be with you!"

The strangers own Pokeball flew out, opening just before it hit the ground, a burst of light flying out of it and materializing into a Lucario, before flying back to its owner's hand.

"Hah! Lucario are weak against Fighting AND Fire! You don't seem like a very good trainer if you overlooked that little detail!" May said confidently. Obviously she was at least a little overconfident in her Pokémon's abilities. She was a very talented coordinator, after all, and this man looked like some sort of street thug who scared little kids into submission for money.

"Blaziken, Agility, and then Quick Attack!" May shouted.

Her Blaziken was happy to oblige, as it started relaxing and lightening its muscles to increase its speed. The Lucario didn't even budge, content to stare down its opponent.

'_That dog isn't even showing any signs of fear at all? I'll teach it to fear me!"_ Blaziken thought, charging straight at Lucario with a lightning fast Quick Attack, made even faster by the Agility move she had just used.

The Lucario or its trainer still didn't budge, even as Blaziken drew very close.

"Blaziken, Fire Punch!" May called out, planning on unleashing a devastating combo, using the momentum and speed built up from the Quick Attack and Agility.

Just before the attack hit, the stranger shouted quickly, "Sidestep and use Close Combat!"

With a display of impossible speed and reflexes, the Lucario side stepped the attack perfectly, almost as though it knew where the attack would land, before it did. It followed this up with a lightning fast, deadly Close Combat move, while the Blaziken was still staggering forward from the missed Fire Punch.

Lucario rained blow after blow down upon the Blaziken, knocking it to the ground, exhausted and covered in cuts and bruises.

"Impressive. It's rare to see a Pokémon survive one of Lucario's Close Combats. Alas, the battle ends now. Lucario, Aura Sphere!" The stranger said.

'_Very well, Master.'_

The Lucario gathered a ball of blue aura energy in its paws, growing it big enough above his head to engulf half of Blaziken's body. When he unleashed it, the effect was devastating. Blaziken was knocked out instantly, no longer having the energy to fight back after a move of that strength.

The stranger returned his Lucario to the Pokeball – He hadn't even bothered to put it back on his belt after bringing it out for the battle. But not before thanking his Pokémon.

'_Thank you, Lucario.'_

'_My pleasure, Master.'_


End file.
